elfnwitch

A lovely mint with a slight hint of spice. Oddly enough, this was a frimp that came in an order that arrived on a day I had a wicked migraine. One whiff, straight to the brain, no more migraine! Even better than Grr, so I'll have to get a bottle!

Rich, spicy, exquisite. This is the love child of Sin and The Coiled Serpent in equal measure! Love it!

I bought and Imp of this along with the July 2012 "13" simply for one ingredient: Balm of Gilead. BoG comes from the sticky resin on the buds of the balsam poplar or the hybrid of the balsam poplar x cottonwood trees. That sweet, spicy, earthy resin is divine, and a group I used to belong to used it as incense for full moon ritual. In this, it is what I smell from wet through to dry. The first evening I tested it, my sleep that night was full of dreams for the first time in recent memory.

While I absolutely love this, I'm going to get a bottle to keep for full moon/dark moon and meditation. Given the other "sacred" ingredients like frankensence and white sage, it is a perfect ritual oil!

Straight out of the bottle and wet on the skin, I get a whiff of blueberry and a light floral that I can't put my finger upon...

Drydown--I now understand why this is for a blue butterfly! It has a soft, powdery scent, floral, a little sweet, but sad. It reminds me a lot of Guerlain's "L'Heure Bleue", but softer, sweeter, and smoother. And, IMHO, much better!

I absolutely love this! I am not able to pick out any particular note that dominates, from wet to dry, but I agree with the description of "purple". To me, it is drop-dead sexy, full of power and portent. I'm hooked!

ROFLMAO! I almost bust a gut at Lycanthrope's description! So perfect, too!

It is such a lovely rose from bottle through dry-down and beyond. Not too strong or overbearing, not too light, just a nice, rich rose. The Obsidian Widow is rose and incense, and London is more like a tea rose--lighter and crisp. But this reminds me of a Mr. Lincoln rosebush (rich, blood red grandiflora, longer stem, with a lush fragrance with a hint of lemon to it) that I had 14 years ago. The second year I had it, it had a perfect, single bloom at Halloween. It was truely magical. And Elizabeth of Bohemia is what it smelled like.

Many thanks to Beth and the BPAL staff for another wonderful memory in a bottle!

I got this one because the combination of scents sounded interesting, and I wasn't disappointed!

In the bottle: a sweet, earthy scent, not pungent or floral, just a nice, fresh earth smell.

Dry-down: the honey comes up a bit, and it reminds me of burning a beeswax candle as the other earthier elements. The earthy portion (patchouli and vetiver) hold about the same, and the floral aspect blooms a bit. I can't give a distinct flower description, but just a nice blending. I have some helichrysum (italicum) that I keep in my little first-aid kit, and it does smell like that, but just a little sweeter. (Helichrysium italicum is a wonderful oil for healing strains, sprains and bruises, and a good description of it is here:

Overall: I really like the smell of this! It has the sultry, earthy smell--I can imagine a woman waiting on a balcony surrounded by ivy and moss, candle at the window, waiting for her love...Sigh!

I'm sooo loving BPAL's roses! This is the perfect tea rose--light, clean, and not overbearing. From wet through dry-down, it has been a clean rose without much else coming through. It never turned acrid, soapy, or overbearing. Just lovely!

I have not really been a fan of other roses as they have given me headaches. Now, I'm trying to find more (as I spin around, twirling, tossing rose petals in my wake!) Many thanks from a happy convert!

I just got an imp of this--wet, it smells like fresh-chopped parsley! Drying down and dry--it still smells like parsley! I love to sniff it but not to wear as a fragrance. But it does give me a little boost of energy and make me smile, so I'll keep it for those dull, dreary days for a little zing!

I initially got an Imp of this on name and description alone. Wet, it smelled like fresh-cut tobacco to me, with none of the other notes apparent. The tobacco dried off quickly to reveal the rose. But it wasn't overpowering, just a rich smell. After about 20 min. or so, the patchouli and myrrh kicked in with the rose so that it smelled like a warm, rosey incense that is nicely balanced and not acidic at all.

Most rose blends I've sniffed over the years have been a disappointment, until The Obsidian Widow. I absolutely adore it! It is spicy enough to be multi-seasonal, and floral enough to withstand the summer. Mmmmmm! If this is ever to be discontinued, please give enough warning so I can buy enough for a lifetime!

I purchased an imp of this on the name and description. The patchouli-definitely the dominating note-is much richer and cleaner than most I've sniffed. And the dry-down had some sweet and mossy notes. It reminded me of an ancient forest--not of decay but fully alive. If Fangorn could have a scent, it is this to me.

That said, I'm an Aries with a lot of earth elements in my birthchart. Overly fruity, floral-y, and watery scents tend to give me migraines, and I wanted an earthy scent that wasn't too pungent and setttled nicely on the skin. This one feels like home to me, and I love the way I feel when I wear it. Now on to get a bottle of this...